I appreciated Ronald S. Lauder's "Who Will Stand Up for the
Christians?" Being for Palestine should not be all about ignoring or
excusing Islamists crimes, nor should being for Palestine be all
about automatically rejecting everything a pro-Israel Jewish
leader says. Furthermore Lauder is not the first concerned person,
nor will he be the last, warning people that ISIL is a serious
problem.

Hussein Ibish of the
American Task Force on Palestine has been writing many
riveting articles warning about the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Ibish points out in a
recent column Baghdadi
Denial Syndrome that "One of the most alarming features of
Arab responses to the rise of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and
Iraq is a persistent pattern of neurotic denial in the form of
conspiracy theories and other escapist fantasies. But running away
from the truth will only complicate the ability of Arab states and
societies to comprehend where the IS came from, how it has
unexpectedly managed to surge into so much power so quickly, and
how it can be effectively countered."

I think it is obvious that stopping the Israel-Palestine conflict,
once and for all, with a carefully negotiated fully secular two
state solution based on true respect for international law and
universal human rights, will provide reasonable people and good
ideas the chance to help lead the Middle East away from escalating
religious extremism, sectarian strife, and endless refugee
crises.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTESGeorge Galloway and Israeli embassy accused of
creating 'disharmony'"A Muslim
community leader in Bradford has accused the local MP, George
Galloway, and the Israeli embassy of creating "disharmony" in the
city after they became embroiled in a public spat following
Galloway's declaration of Bradford as an "Israel-free zone".... Zulfi
Karim, secretary of the Bradford Council of Mosques"called
on Galloway and Taub to stop using the city for their own
political ends, saying: "This is to Mr Galloway and the
ambassador: please do not bring your politics on to the streets of
Bradford to create disharmony among our communities"."

Where
is the Palestinian Gandhi?Zogby:
What we found was that
there has been a continued erosion in the favorable ratings
Americans have of both Arabs and Muslims, posing a threat to
the civil rights and political inclusion of both Arab
Americans and American Muslims.

To honor a tragic
history, we must work for peace : "The
only way to honor our tragic histories is to
create a future for our children free of
man-made tragedy. This means making peace fully,
completely and without reservation, between
Israel and Palestine." Ziad
Asali

Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a
military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or
provide security for the parties, the council:

1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that
a just peace is its strategic option as well.

2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:

I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied
since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4,
1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese
territories in the south of Lebanon.

II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee
problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General
Assembly Resolution 194.

III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign
independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories
occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
with East Jerusalem as its capital.

3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:

I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a
peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the
states of the region.

II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of
this comprehensive peace.

America/Israel/Palestine
1776
America/Israel/Palestine 1948: All human beings
are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act
towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.